That's "Campana-stan" or ''Land of Campana." It reflects the Weltanschauung of Michael E. Campana, President-for-Life of the Republic of Campanastan. Welcome to Campanastan - no passports or visas required!

Texas Agriculture Law BlogDon't let the name fool you - there are lots of water issues in agriculture and Tiffany Dowell of Texas A&M University does a fabulous job with this important Internet resource. Give it a read - I do every day!

The Way of WaterOregon State University Geography PhD Student, Jennifer Veilleux, records her fieldwork, research, and thoughts about transboundary water resources development in the Nile River and Mekong River basins. Particular attention is given to Ethiopia's Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and Laos' Xayaburi Dam projects.

Thirsty in SuburbiaGayle Leonard documents things from the world of water that make us smile: particularly funny, amusing and weird items on bottled water, water towers, water marketing, recycling, the art-water nexus and working.

This Day in Water HistoryMichael J. 'Mike' McGuire, engineer extraordinaire, NAE member, and author of 'The Chlorine Revolution', blogs about historical happenings in the fields of drinking water and wastewater keyed to calendar dates.

Watering the DesertAptly-titled blog by CJ Brooks, a lawyer-hydrologist-geologist from Tucson, AZ.

Watershed Moments: Thoughts from the HydrosphereFrom Sarah Boon - rediscovering her writing and editing roots after 13 years, primarily as an environmental scientist. Her writing centres around creative non-fiction, specifically memoir and nature writing. The landscapes of western Canada are her main inspiration.

When I learned of star college football player Tim Tebow's off-field accomplishments a few years ago, for some reason, I filed that away somewhere. But today's New York Times prompted me to write about him.

Some consider him the greatest college football player ever. I don't know about that claim (although he is quite remarkable), but in my mind what separates him from the others is his desire to make the world a better place by helping others.

Friday, 28 August 2009

The other day I swapped emails with a former student who was being victimized by malicious gossip on the Internet. Nothing I could say or do could assuage the pain.

I would be reluctant to trade the Internet for anything - it's an amazing tool. But like many seemingly beneficent tools, it can be horribly misused and there is nothing better (or worse) at quickly and anonymously spreading misinformation and downright venomous content.

My student suggested that I write a post about how the Internet can be used to disparage individuals. At the time I didn't thinkI'd follow through. But what prompted me to write this post was a blog post I read the day Sen. Ted Kennedy died. It was anonymous, of course. Here it is in all its grammatical splendor:

had a great day, went to a big BBQ in MA. at the kopechne estate, live music by the dead kennedy's, opening act asleep at the wheel, and sir paul opened with a special rendetion of "baby you can drive my car"...excellent day...

"Character is doing what's right, even if no one is looking." -- Unknown

You see a Manny Ramirez, you see an A-Rod, you see Jeter … Guys that I played against and with, these guys you’re talking about cannot compare. We didn’t have the baggy uniforms. We didn’t have the dreadlocks. It was a clean game, and now they’re setting a bad example for the young guys.

So his era's game was a 'clean game'? Hmmm....Has Rice not heard of "greenies"?

He understandably singled out A-Rod and Manny Ramirez for bad behavior (no complaints here), but Derek Jeter? Jeter, arguably having the best year of his career at age 35, is a throwback who 'plays the game as it should be played', unlike slacker Manny and juiced-up, me-first A-Rod. To lump Jeter in with people like A-Rod and Manny shows that Rice has been living in a cave lo these past 15 years. Or, as Barney Frank might ask, "On what planet do you spend most of your time?"

It's odd that Rice spoke about ballplayers being bad examples. When he played, Rice had the reputation as a surly, insular guy who was antagonistic towards the press (the likely reason he waited so long for the HOF). In fairness to Rice, being an African-American baseball player in Boston 30 years ago could not have been a picnic, especially when he played on the same team as "All-American" boy Fred Lynn, who won both the MVP and Rookie-of-the-Year awards in 1975, also Rice's rookie year.

Jim, you were a great ballplayer - third in a line of great Boston HOF left fielders (Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski preceded him) - but whining and bitterness are so unbecoming to a Hall of Famer.

"Blessed is the man, who having nothing to say, abstains from giving wordy evidence of the fact." -- George Eliot

“Yes, in my 27 years in the big leagues, he is probably the classiest person I’ve been around.” -- umpire John Hirschbeck, speaking of Derek Jeter

Saturday, 22 August 2009

A friend of mine sent me these, compiled by an airline ticket agent at a Washington, DC, airport. Names were provided but since I cannot vouch for the veracity of this list, I deleted all references to the identities of our illustrious Members of Congress and their staffers. Regardless, it's hilarious.

1) I had a New England Congresswoman ask for an aisle seat so that her hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window. (On an airplane!)

2) I got a call from a Kansas Congressman's staffer who wanted to go to Cape Town. I started to explain the length of the flight and the passport information, and then he interrupted me with, ''I'm not trying to make you look stupid, but Cape Town is in Massachusetts .'' Without trying to make him look stupid, I calmly explained, ''Cape Cod is in Massachusetts , Cape Town is in Africa.'' His response: Click.

3) A senior New England Congressman called, furious about a Florida package we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando . He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that's not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the state. He replied, "Don't lie to me, I looked on the map and Florida is a very thin state!'' (OMG!)

4) I got a call from a lawmaker's wife who asked, ''Is it possible to see England from Canada ?'' I said, ''No.'' She said, ''But they look so close on the map.'' (OMG, again!)

5) An aide for a cabinet member once called and asked if he could rent a car in Dallas. I pulled up the reservation and noticed he had only a 1-hour layover in Dallas. When I asked him why he wanted to rent a car, he said, ''I heard Dallas was a big airport, and we will need a car to drive between gates to save time.'' (Aghhhh!!)

6) An Illinois Congressman called last week. She needed to know how it was possible that her flight from Detroit left at 8:30 a.m., and got to Chicago at 8:33 a.m. I explained that Michigan was an hour ahead of Illinois, but she couldn't understand the concept of time zones. Finally, I told her the plane went fast, and she bought that.

7) A New York lawmaker called and asked, ''Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs to whom?'' I said, 'No, why do you ask?' He replied, ''Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said (FAT), and I'm overweight. I think that's very rude!'' After putting him on hold for a minute, while I looked into it (I was dying laughing). I came back and explained the city code for Fresno, CA, is (FAT - Fresno Air Terminal), and the airline was just putting a destination tag on his luggage.

8) A senator's aide called to inquire about a trip package to Hawaii. After going over all the cost info, she asked, ''Would it be cheaper to fly to California and then take the train to Hawaii?''

9) I just got off the phone with a freshman Congressman who asked, ''How do I know which plane to get on?'' I asked him what exactly he meant, to which he replied, ''I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these planes have numbers on them.''

10) A California lawmaker called and said, ''I need to fly to Pepsi-Cola , Florida . Do I have to get on one of those little computer planes?'' I asked if she meant fly to Pensacola, FL, on a commuter plane. She said, ''Yeah, whatever, smarty!''

11) A Southern lawmaker called and had a question about the documents needed to fly to China . After a lengthy discussion about passports, I reminded her that she needed a visa. " She replied, "Oh, no I don't. I've been to China many times and never had to have one of those.'' I double-checked and sure enough, her stay required a visa. When I told her this she said, ''Look, I've been to China four times and every time they have accepted my American Express!''

12) A New Jersey Congressman called to make reservations, ''I want to go from Chicago to Rhino, New York .'' I was at a loss for words. Finally, I said, ''Are you sure that's the name of the town?'' "Yes, what flights do you have?'' replied the man. After some searching, I came back with, ''I'm sorry, sir, I've looked up every airport code in the country and can't find a 'Rhino' anywhere.” ‘‘The man retorted, ''Oh, don't be silly! Everyone knows where it is. Check your map!'' So I scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, ''You don't mean Buffalo, do you?'' The reply? ''Whatever! I knew it was a big animal.''

Wednesday, 19 August 2009

What with all the people tossing around the word 'Nazi" today, I think it's instructive to reflect upon who the Nazis were and what they did. Perhaps then we won't be so cavalier in branding someone a Nazi.

See, we'll be talking about Nazis, something many of us are doing lately. Indeed, just this week a fellow named Joseph e-mailed me about a caller he heard on a radio show. The man, vexed over healthcare reform, likened President Obama to Adolf Hitler. Asked why, he said, "Hitler took over the car companies, then healthcare and then he killed the Jews.''

Said Joseph: "I almost swerved my vehicle off the road when I heard that.''

But the caller is hardly unique. Google "Obama + Nazis'' and you get almost seven million hits. Nor is the phenomenon new. Substitute President Bush's name and you get nearly 2.8 million.

Then there is this passage:

For the record, then: It was Nazis who shoved sand down a boy's throat until he died, who tossed candies to Jewish children as they sank to their deaths in a sand pit, who threw babies from a hospital window and competed to see how many of those `little Jews' could be caught on a bayonet, who injected a cement-like fluid into women's uteruses to see what would happen, who stomped a pregnant woman to death, who once snatched a woman's baby from her arms and, in the words of an eyewitness, `tore him as one would tear a rag'.''

Sunday, 16 August 2009

By now you've all heard about Rick Pitino, the very successful college basketball coach at the University of Louisville, one of the big-time programs where a won-loss record that would be golden at many other places gets you a one-way ticket out of town.

What's not to like about Rick, another Long Island Italian-American kid who made it big?

Pitino, married with five children, has admitted to a one-night stand (actually, it was a table) in 2003 with Karen Sypher. They reportedly had sex on a table at an upscale Louisville restaurant (no, not Denny's). She apparently got an abortion, married his assistant Tim Sypher, then tried to extort $10M from Pitino and is now under indictment and getting a divorce. Suffice it to say that it is quite messy.

Pitino's nominal UL boss, President James Ramsey, is standing behind him despite a clause in his contract that permits termination for "acts of moral depravity or misconduct that damages the university's reputation." I'm sure Ramsey ran this past the boosters.

So why am I posting about this? I am not here to judge Pitino, a highly-paid, high-profile, very successful coach. His last UL team was 31-5 and missed the Final Four by a game. His overall college winning percentage is something like 73%.

What I am wondering is this:

1) would Pitino be getting cut such slack if his last few teams had been mediocre?

2) will he be let go if it turns out this sordid affair affects recruiting or his team's play?

We'll see what happens this year. As former UNLV head coach Jerry Tarkanian once said, "As long as you're winning, they love you."

Monday, 10 August 2009

Just when you thought it safe to feel comfortable with an articulate President who exudes intelligence and fair-mindedness, the truth surfaces: President Obama digs signing statements. That's the same tactic that drove liberals and others crazy when former President Bush employed them to challenge over 1,200 provisions in various bills - more than twice those of all previous presdients combined.

President Obama has attached signing statements to 5 of the 42 bills he's signed - to be sure, a far cry from what President Bush did.

“We didn’t think it was an appropriate practice when President Bush was doing it, and our policy is such that we don’t think it is an appropriate practice when President Obama is doing it.” --H. Thomas Wells, former president, American Bar Association

Tuesday, 04 August 2009

On their last day in Oregon our SUSIE students from Central America and the Caribbean got to experience snow for the first time. We took them up to about 6000 feet on the flanks of Mt. Hood. It didn't take them long to figure out what you could do with the stuff. I think it wasn't but a few minutes before the snowballs started flying.

Circle of BlueCircle of Blue uses journalism, scientific research, and conversations from around the world to bring the story of the global freshwater crisis to life. Here you’ll find new water reports, news headlines, and hear from leading scientists.

Drink Water For LifeThe idea is simple. Drink water or other cheap beverages instead of expensive lattes, sodas, and bottled water for a set period of time. A day, a week, a month, Lent, Ramadan, Passover, or some other holiday period.

eFlowNet NewsletterFrom the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) this newsletter has lots of information about environmental flows and related issues.

Sustainable Water Resources RoundtableSince 2002, the Sustainable Water Resources Roundtable (SWRR) has brought together federal, state, corporate, non-profit and academic sectors to advance our understanding of the nation’s water resources and to develop tools for their sustainable management.